Italy's parliament gives final approval to electoral reform with bonus seats
Italy's parliament has given final approval to changes to the electoral system that award bonus seats to the coalition with the most votes. The opposition says the reform serves Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's interests and plans to challenge it in the constitutional court.
The Italian parliament has given final approval to a controversial overhaul of electoral law that critics see as an attempt to improve Giorgia Meloni's chances of staying in power in elections due next year. In a secret ballot in the lower house, 227 MPs voted in favour and 164 against.
What the new system involves
The reform introduces a fully proportional model in which bonus seats go to the coalition that wins the most votes. To qualify, a coalition must reach a threshold of 42% of the vote. Another contested requirement is that parties and alliances must set out their government programme and name their candidate for prime minister well ahead of a general election.
Meloni says the new rules will bring greater political stability. Opposition parties argue they mainly benefit those already in power. When the result was announced, opposition politicians held up signs calling the law a "scam" and a "con". They have vowed to challenge it in the constitutional court, arguing that the bonus seat element distorts voter representation.
A united coalition and a divided opposition
Meloni, who leads the far-right Brothers of Italy, had turned the vote into a test for her ruling rightwing coalition, warning MPs from allies including Forza Italia and the League that a defeat would plunge the government into crisis. The coalition has tensions, has suffered setbacks in recent months and faces a threat from the rise of a new far-right rival, Roberto Vannacci, leader of Futuro Nazionale. Even so, it has shown unity, and in early September it became Italy's longest-serving government since the second world war. The broad leftwing alliance led by the Democratic party, by contrast, is highly fractious, with no clear leader or programme.
Meloni wrote on social media that the outcome answered those who wanted to see her coalition divided. Elly Schlein, leader of the Democratic party, said the governing alliance wanted to change the system because it feared losing the next general election. That vote is officially due before October 2027 but could be brought forward to April or May.
A recent Ipsos Doxa survey suggests the opposition coalition could reach the 42% threshold if it overcame internal divisions and persuaded two small radical parties to join forces.
